The San Francisco call. [volume], December 31, 1903, Image 4

About The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913

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Pocketbooks, wrist bags, letter and
c*rd cases, bill books, cigar cases and
manicure sets. Fine things for New
Year's. Sanborn. Vail & Co. •
KNOXVILLE. Tenn.. Dec. 30. — Den-"
nis Leahy, for several years a player
of the Virginia Baseball League, was
shot and killed here to-day by Frank
Rasran, The latter was arrested.
Baseball Player Is] Rilled.
Two stables were burned last night
In the neighborhood of Brannan and
Ninth streets. The first fire occurred
in the stable of the firm of Patrick
McFadden at 36 Potrero avenue. A
horse was burned to death. Almost
simultaneously with the alarm calling:
the department to the first fire a sec
ond alarm was rung in from the same
box for a fire at 953' Brannan street.
A stable belonging to the River Ex
press Company was damaged to ths
extent of $300.
Two Fires at Same Time.
"I'll never allow another theater to
be built with a stick of wood In it," he
declared, reading bulletins which were
handed him. "The Iroquois was built
along the very latest lines and wa3 pro
vided with twenty-seven double exits,
but wood was used and stairways wen'
employed. A fireproof building will not
be erected as long as wood Is used. In
a theater there are so many articles of
inflammable material that when a blaze
once gets headway it spreads in the
raost alarming manner."
PITTS BURG. Dec. 30.— Benjamin H.
Marshall, the architect who designed
the Iroquois Theater, left for his home
to-night, taking advantage of the first
opportunity to view the scene of the
horror. Marshall was overwhelmed by
the news of the disaster.
ARCHITECT VOWS HE
WILL BUILD NO MORE
WOODEN THEATERS
CHICAGO, Dec. 31.— Will J. Davis and
Harry- J. Powers, proprietors of the
Iroquois Theater, made the following
statement at 1:20 o'clock this (Thurs
day) morning:
"So far as we have been able to as
certain the cause or causes of the most
unfortunate accident of the fire in the
Iroquois, it appears that one of ths
scenic . draperies was noticed to have
ignited from some cause. It was de
tected before it had reached an appre
ciable flame, and the city fireman who
is detailed* and constantly on duty
when the theater la opened noticed it
simultaneously with the electrician.
The fireman, who was only a few feet
away. Immediately pulled a tube of
"Kllf yre,!; of which I there were many
hung about . the stage, and , threw ' the
contents upon the blaze, which would
have been more than enough if the
.'Kilfyre) had been effective, and would
have; extinguished the flame at once,
but. for sdme cause it had no effect..;
"The fireman and electrician then or
dered down . the "asbestos curtain, and
the flreinan threw 'the- contents of an-
OBSTINATE ASBESTOS
CURTAIN THE' CAUSE,
S SAY PROPRIETORS
CORONER BELIEVES
RESULTS OF DISASTER
WERE UNAVOIDABLE
CHICAGO, Dec. 30.— Coroner Treager
made as complete an inspection of the
theater as possible. He said:
"If the . asbestos curtain had been
working I believe the fire might have
been prevented from spreading into the
audience chamber. An Iron railing
which separated each row of seats from
the adjoining tier prevented, I think,
many from reaching places of safety.
This circumstance, combined with the
steep incline, made it difficult for so
large an audience to escape without
great ' delay. This is a modern fire
proof theater, furnished with all the
appliances and equipment that are sup
posed to prevent just such a catas
trophe as now has occurred. The plush
on the seats of ; the first balcony was
charred, but still visible.
' "This does not look to me as though
everybody would have got out of the
theater alive when you Uake into ac
; count the speed with which the flames
had spread. My Inspection showed
that the seats on the, main floor were
burned but little. The balconies had
evidently shielded to a large extent the
seats in the parquet. The path of the
flames was evident. The stage and
ceiling of the theater were blistered
and blackened* .There was practically
no damage to furniture on the first
floor. The ' booth boxes on the sec
ond tier were' destroyed by fire, while
gled and charred humanity. We car
ried out bo many Injured and dead that
at last they grew so numerous.that we
were unable to keep counj of them.
Such a dreadful sight I trust I will
never be called upon to witness again.
Crazed men- fought to get within the
corridors, thinking to find their loved
ones among the piles of corpses that
filled every available foot, of space.
Strong men with tear-blinded eyes
stood on the sidewalk anad called loud
ly the -names of their loved ones, as
though there were a chance of the dead
hearing. We had all we could do to
lessen their grief, but such scenes can
never be forgotten in a lifetime."
those oh the first floor were burned
only in spots, evidently by burning
fragments from above."
W. A. Merriman. Western manager
of the George H. .Fuller Company,
the concera .which erected the Iro
quois Theater, when seen . to-night
made the following statement con
cerning the construction of the build-
Ing: .
"The building was built. with 'safety
as the rnnln consideration. All build
ing ordinances were adhered to in
every detail, and. more than that,
there were 'additional safeguards
thrown about until I do not hesitate
to state that there was no theater
building in the country which was
freer from danger. The j exits were
numerous and all the work which
our company performed was abso
lutely fireproof. After making a
very, careful examination of the build
ing since the fire I find the structure
as erected still stands intact."
equipment of the theater. It started,
they claim, from the bursting of a
calcium light apparatus. Thi concus
sion was so great that it blew out the
skylight over the stage and auditorium.
This statement of the theater man
agement is contradicted by many per
sons who were in the theater and who
declared that when the explosion oc
curred they saw flames in a narrow
streak crossing the wall near the upper
part of the drop curtain.
W. A. C. Sellers, the house fireman,
who was severely burned in trying to
lower the asbestos curtain, describes
the scene upon the stage and the cause
as follows:
"I was standing in the wings when
I heard the explosion and there Im
mediately went forward a cry of 'Fire!'
from the stage and all parts of the
theater. Looking up, I saw that the
curtain was ablaze, so I rang for the
fire curtain. We got it half way<4lown,
when the wind, rushing in from the
broken skylights, bellied it out so that
it caught and we could not budge it.
'With the stage hands I climbed to
where it was suspended and together
we tried to push it. down. Our efforts
were futile, and seeing that no human
power could move that fire curtain, and
that the stage was a mass of flames.
I turned my attention toward warning
the actors and trying to save those who
were in trouble.
"The women were frantic and the
men not much better. I stocd at "the
stairway leading to the dressing-rooms
where the chorus people were located
and kept some from going up to get
their street clothes. As the others came
down I forced them to leave the build
ins. I do not kntrw how they ever got
out all those girls and men who came
crowding down the stairs, for the stage
entrance was blocked by a mass of
flames."
IIISHOP FALLOWS A HERO.
Among the hundreds of persons who
rushed to the rescue when the call of
fire was heard on the streets was Bish
op Fallows, who happened to.be near
the theater. Without fear or hesita
tion he made his way through the dark
ness, which was intensified by the vol
ume of smoke that filled the audito
rium, to the top gallery and assisted in
carrying out the victims.
"God forbid that I ever again shall
It was the presence of the children,
hundreds of whom were In the audi
ence, and the efforts of their frantic
mothers, impelled by their flrst thought
to seek the safety of their young, that
caused much of the pandemonium.
Alexander H. Revell.'who had. sent his
little daughter, Margaret, with a little
friend. In charge of a maid, to see the
performance, five minutes, after the
fire started heard of it in his store, and
hastily calling a carriage drove madly
to the burning building. By the great
est good fortune one of the flrst persons
he encountered was the hysterical
maid, who Informed him that the two
children had been saved without injury.
Revell then hastened into the theater
and participated in the rescue.
"As I worked in the upper balconies,"
said he, "the sight of those poor, women
and their little children with clenched
fists raised as though trying to beat
their Way to safety and stricken down
in the very act is too horrible to at
tempt to describe. But I thought of
how my own little ones had been saved
and I forgot my horror and did all I
could to save those who were not so
fortunate. I assisted the police and
firemen in carrying down^more than
twenty bodies." *-', ;T*.-~
Sheriff Barrett and a score of depu
ties from his office assisted in carrying
out the injured and in keeping order
among the mob' of frantic relatives
who thronged the streets in front of the
burning building, " vainly .seeking ." in
formation that no one, could give them.
"I have never before witnessed such
a scene in all my life," said Sheriff Bar
rett. "On all sides were heaps of man-
MAID SATES CHILDREN.
see such a heartrending sight," said
the Bi3hop to-night. "I have been in
wars and on the bloody field of battle,
but in all my experience I have never
seen anything half so gruesome as the
sight that met my eyes when, with the
aid of a tiny lantern, I was finally able
to DPRetrate the inky darkness of that
balcony. There was a pile of bleeding
bodies ten feet high, with blackened
faces and remnants of charred cloth
ing clinging to them. Borne were alive
and moaning in their agony. Others —
and, oh! by far the greater number
were dead. I assisted in carrylng.many
of the injured down and ministered to
them the best I could."
other tube of Kilfyre upon the blaze,
but with no better result. The commo
tion thus caused excited the alarm of
the audience, who Immediately started
for the exits, of which there are twen
ty-five of unusual width, all opening
out' and ready to the hand of any one
reaching them. The draught thus
caused, It Is believed, had before the
curtain could be entirely lowered, pro
duced a bellying of the asbestos cur
tain, causing a pressure on the guides
against the solid brick wall, thus stop
ping its descent. Every effort was
made by those 0.1 the stage to pull It
down,- but the draught was so great it
seemed that the pressure against the
wall and the friction caused thereby
was so strong that it could not be over
come. The andience became panic
stricken in their efforts to reach the
exits and tripped and fell over each
other, blocking the way.
"The audience was promptly ad
monished and importuned by persons
on the stage and in the auditorium to
be calm and avoid any rush; that the
exits and facilities for emptying the
theater were ample to enable them all
to get out without confusion.
"No 'expense or precaution was
omitted to make the theater as fire
proof as it could be made, there be
ing nothing combustible -in the struc
ture except the trimmings and fur
nishings of the stage and auditorium.
In the building of the theater we sac
rificed more space to aisles and ex
its than any other theater in Amer
ica."
IROQUOIS THEATER. MEMBERS
OP CAST. AND SCENE JUST
PRECEDING FIRE.
While the police and firemen were
carrying out the d^ad and injured. Will
J. Davis, one of the proprietors of the
theater, was indefatigable in his ef
forts to alleviate suffering and to as
sist in caring for the dead. He said:
"There was no need, as far as 1
know, of a single life being lost. There
were more than forty exits to the the
ater. The building is fireproof, and Jf
somebody had not screamed 'Fire!' I
think that all. es far as those killed In
the panic are concerned, could have
reached the. street in safety: and of
those who were suffocated by the gas.
nearly all would have been taken out
by the time the explosion occurred, if
order had been preserved In making
th*ir exits.
"As far as we have learned, every
body on the first floor except three es
caped, although some sustained bruises
and other minor Injuries. The great
Iocs of life was In the first and second
balconies. These combined will seat
'about 900 persons. The sale of seats
had been good, but not up to the ca
pacity, and as far as I can estimate
the. balconies held between 750 and 80D
persons. The top balcony, where the
cheapest seats were located, was the
most crowded and it was there the
crowd found most difficulty in Strug-
E'lrc toward the exits." S^SS
CONFLICTING ACCOUNTS.
It was declared to-night by the man-
Rgement of the theater that the fire
was not caused by the grounding of an
electric wire or by any defect In the
MANAGER DAVIS' STORY.
dressing rooms and *.vcre almost
overcome by smoke when they
down to the stage and to the
doors. The simple fact that the
curtain did not descend entirely
was what saved the lives of the
company, although it caused such
a horrible catastrophe in the front
of the house.
"After the curtain had refused
to descend there came the explo
sion of the gas tanks. With the
curtain down, all the fire and gas
would have been confined be
tween the rear wall of the theater
and the .fireproof curtain in front.
Under these circumstances it
would not have been possible for
a single member of the company
to escape alive unless he or she
had been standing immediately in
front of the door leading: into the
alley. As it was the draught carried
all the gas and fire out beneath
the curtain and the company was
saved, although their salvation
meant the deaths of so manv poor
the rear of the house. I never be
lieved it possible for fire to spread
SO quickly.
"When it started I went to thfe
footlights, and, to prevent alarm
ing the audience, said that there
was a slight blaze, and that it
would be better for all to leave
quietly. Then I stepped back and
called for the asbestos curtain to
be lowered. This curtain, when
• about half-way down, refused to
go farther and thus an additional
draught was created. This swept
the liames into the auditorium
- and I knew that the theater was
doomed.
AUKS WOMEN TO ESCAPE.
"I hurried back to the stage and
aided in getting the women mem
bers of the company into the al
lcv. Some of them were in the
In describing the commence
ment of the fire. Foy attributed
the catastrophe to the failure of
the fireproof curtain to work
properly. Because of this, he said,
the flames readily obtained access
to the main part of the theater
and the draught, carrying with it
gas as well as fire, swept up to
th<t two balconies, where the loss
of life i was greatest.
"The fire began in the middle of
the second act," said Foy. "An
electric wire broke, was grounded
and from this the flames were
started in the rear of the stage.
The stage is unusually wide and
there was so great a draught that
the flames spread rapidly. They
soon attacked all the scenerv in
House in his stage costume ,and
with his face covered with grease
paint, in order to obtain surgical
attention for some burns.
FOY DESCRIBES HORROR.
CHICAGO, Dec. 30. — The
members of the "Mr. Bluebeard"
theatrical company, being on the
first floor of the Iroquois Theater,
had little difficulty in reaching the
street, although their situation
was for a moment highly critical
because of the speed with which
the flames swept through the
mas? of scenery in the flics and on
the stage. 0
Eddie Foy. principal comedian
in the play, was one of the last to
escape, getting out through a rear
door after assisting the women
members of the company to safe
tv. He went 4nto the Sherman
Whiifi G of Fate That Dooms Audience
Saves the Lives of Those
on the Stage. > i
Survivors and Rescuers Describe the
Catastrophe and Scenes in
House of Death.
IMPRISONED HUNDREDS STRUGGLE WITH MANIACAL FURY TO REACH EXITS
Crowds Rush to Fire Escapes, Only
to Find That Ladders Have
Not Been Placed.
Foremost Are Hurled to Their Death
by the Frantic Struggles
of Those Behind. "
CHICAGO, Dec. 30.— The Iro
quois Theater had been con
structed but a short time and its
equipment was not all yet in
place. This included, unfortun
ately, a fire escape in the rear of
the building.* The small iron bal
conies to which the iron ladder
was to be attached were up, but
the ladder had not yet been con-
When the panic was at its
height a great number of women
ran for the fire escapes, only to
find, as they emerged from the
doorway- upon the little iron plat
form, that they were thirty or for
ty feet from the ground, a fire be
hind and no method of escape in
front. Those who reached the
platform first endeavored to hold
theifc footing and to keep back the
crowd that pressed upon them
from the rear. *,* y^j
• /The effort was useless .and in a
few moments the iron ledges
weje jammed with crowds of wo
men who screamed, fought and
tore at each other like maniacs.
This lasted but a brie^. interval
and the rush" from the'jrvierior of
the -building became so violent
that -many of them W^JSS crowded
oft and fell to the granite pave
ment below. Others leaped from
the platform, fracturing legs and
arnjs, and two were picked up
at this point with fractured skulls,
having been killed instantly.
George H. Elliott, secretary of
the Ogden Gas Company, was in
a building directly across the al
ley from the theater, and, noticing
smoke, went down to ascertain its
qause. When he reached the
street the women were already
dropping into ttfe alley, and Elli
ott imrrtediately rushed for a lad
der in the effort to save as many
as possible. No ladder was avail
able, .and the only manner of as
sistance they were able to devise
was to hurriedly lash some planks
together and throw them across
to the women on the
platforms, with instructions to
place the end firmly on the iron
work. Before this could be done
a fearful loss of time ensued, wo
men were being hurled every in
stant into the alley, and by the
time the bridge was constructed
few persons remained to take ad
vantage of it. However, about
two dozen, it is believed by Mr.
Elliott, made their way across
this narrow causeway.
MUSICIAN OF THIS
CITY EMPLOYED AT
THE BURNED THEATER
SEATTLE. Dec. 30.— Carlos E. Arri
ola, formerly of San Francisco, was
flute player in the orchestra of the new
Iroquois Theater, which was burned in
Chicago to-day. Arriola's parents, one
or two brothers and a sister live in San
Francisco at. the present time. All th*
Arriolas are musical. One of his broth*
ers was cornet soloist at the exposition
held in Portland two or three years ago.
His friends here fear that he may b»
among the dead.
Se.veral years ago Arriola came here
from San Francisco and joined Wag
ner's First Regiment band as flrst flute.
He held that position until about a
year ago, when he and his wife went to
Continued on Pasc 5.
STRIKING LIVERYMEN
CALL A TRUCE AND
WILL NOT INTERFERE
CHICAGO, Dec. 30. — Immediately
after the news of the Iroquois The
ater disaster reached the headquarters
of the striking liverymen, Albert
Toungr, general organizer for the In
ternational Teamsters' Association,
called an executive session of the
strike leaders.
It was decided that, in view of th^
fearful loss of life at the fire, that all
other considerations than thosa of
humanity must be swept aside and
immediate action taken to permit
burial of the dead without hindrance
of any character.
THE - SAN FRANCISCO- CALL, .THURSDAY.'- -DKCKMB&R v 31, . 1003.
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